A key problem in the field of studio image capture is how to configure a lighting arrangement to obtain an aesthetically pleasing image. Professional, photographers, video and movie makers are trained to master the art of configuring the lighting arrangement by setting the lighting parameters (such as, intensity, spatial position and distribution, direction, diffusion, spectral distribution etc.) to light a scene that is to be captured by a camera, in order to obtain the aesthetic result they are aiming for. The quality of the images produced by professionals using studio lighting is carefully optimised by thoughtful configuration of the studio lighting.
Professional training is used to acquire the skills to adequately configure studio lighting. As a result, high studio lighting quality is out of reach for untrained users who lack these skills Therefore untrained users cannot easily achieve optimal image quality capture in situations when the scene is not naturally well lit.
When the scene is naturally well lit (e.g. an outdoor scene lit by sun light), most cameras are able to autonomously set numerous capture parameters to achieve very good image quality, thereby assisting an untrained user and reducing the skills gap between trained and untrained users.
In addition to this, through-the-lens (TTL) flash systems can help users light a scene, by automatically adjusting the global level of light delivered by the flash or its colour temperature. Unfortunately TTL flashes often produce images that are not aesthetically pleasing. For example, foreground objects might be over-exposed and appear too bright and blue while the background is under-exposed and may appear dim and yellowish. The spatial position of the flash relative to the scene might not be optimal when the flash is attached to the camera body. Further, it may be difficult for the untrained user to locate or configure the flash when the flash uses wireless technology.
Some existing methods focus on producing a spatially adaptive even lighting, with the goal to capture a better image. These methods achieve constant illumination across a range of distances from the scene based on depth information, or achieve constant brightness on the main subject, adapt the flash intensity depending on the depth and reflectivity of features in the scene, use flash only in certain areas of the image, rely on existing light for other areas, or prevent shadow creation with spatial distribution of flash lights.
Other methods describe how to adjust the colour of the light to match colour characteristics of existing surrounding light (e.g. the sun) captured by the camera to resolve colour lighting problems as well as to adjust colours, or correct face colour into an appropriate skin colour.
Some of these previous methods are based on the assumption that uniform lighting (spatially and/or spectrally) across the scene will generally produce aesthetically pleasing images. Yet one problem is that, depending both on the scene and on the desired aesthetic effect, uniform lighting does not always produce a desirable aesthetic quality. For example, users might prefer the aesthetic effect of light gradations and shadows in portraits.